The Wheel Builder

I’m Mr Noble Wheels, but my friends call me Jonny. I first got into bikes when I was 13, messing about with BMX and mountain biking like a lot of kids my age. I soon got the bug for buying kits I couldn’t afford so landed my first job in a bike shop when I was 15 (as a Saturday boy no less). It was great, I could finally buy the new bits and pieces I’d spent hours drooling over online for half the money! Plus Ben the mechanic taught me how to fit them. It was actually Ben who helped me to build my very first set of wheels, which turned out pretty good for a first try. The last 10 years saw my Saturday boy status turn into second mechanic, which progressed onto workshop manager and then onto shop manager before I finally took the plunge and started my own company – Noble Wheels.

I first set up Noble Wheels in August 2011 building wheels in the evenings and on my days off from the shop job. In February 2013 I decided it was time to focus all of my energy into wheel building and I haven’t looked back since. I think there is something very special about delivering a bespoke service. From first talking about the specific needs of a rider, discussing required ride characteristics, then hand picking the best possible parts for the job based on rider weight, riding style and comfort requirements before finally building a fabulous set of wheels. That’s not the end however, because the greatest reward for me is when I get a call or an email from a customer to tell me just how pleased they are with their new wheels.

I used to dream of one day becoming a pro tour race mechanic – until I met Phil Deeker. He gave me the opportunity to work for him on the Cent Cols Challenge events and showed me the mountains, specifically the REALLY steep ones. I now spend a month of my year chasing crazy cyclists around the most amazing places with my allen keys. Bliss.

Having spent a large portion of my life repairing bicycles I developed a love for fancy tools – the more specific the job the tool is used for the better. I now have a collection of some of the best wheel building tools available which help me to deliver amazing wheels. I spend most of my time standing in front of my P&K Lie truing stand holding my Wheel Fanatyk spoke tensiometer and P&K Lie spoke wrench. But before all of this I’m busy cutting and threading my spokes to the exact lengths required using my Morizumi spoke cutting and threading machine. If you put your nerdy hat on and take a look at the Tools & Services page you can read more about the tools I use. There’s pictures too!

Example Builds

Testimonials

// Bruce Berkeley

I have set two world records riding wheels built by Jonny – in June 2014 I managed 2,825km in 7 days and in January 2015 I rode 9,751km in one month. The next goal starts on January 1st 2016 with my attempt to break Tommy Godwin’s year record of 122,000km in 12 months. Jonny has teamed up with Boyd Cycling and Chris King to give me the best set of wheels for my journey. Cheers guys!!
Check out Bruce’s wheels HERE

// Phil Deeker

Most of my riding is done in remote areas, on road surfaces that at times only just qualify as surfaces that can be called ‘roads’. I rarely ride on the flat. This means loads of uphill torque and just as much pay-back downhill road-buzz. The wheels that Jonny has built for me have now seen me comfortably & efficiently through their first 5000km’s with out any need for re-truing at all. There is a rumour that you cannot have reliability, lightweight and good value all in one wheel: you have to choose two of those factors and sacrifice the third. My wheels however are strong, light, comfortable and super reliable; and they are also as good value for money as any other wheel you will find. so, for me, Mr Bell has broken that triangle theory with panache! The CK hubs, the wide Pacenti SL23 rims and the Sapim CX-Ray spokes combine perfectly to give me the smoothest and yet most responsive ride I have experienced to date. Thanks Mr Bell!

// Jason Kemp

I own several pairs of hand built wheels from Jonny. Each set was built specifically for me, my weight, my riding style and each set has a unique purpose. I have lightweight hoops for the mountains, sexy deep section wheels for TT’s and some hard as nails winter trainers – for when it rains. Riding on Jonny’s wheels can only be compared to the first time you try on a made to measure suit. You immediately feel the difference in every aspect of the ride. I can’t recommend Jonny enough to anyone who is passionate about their cycling.